


A Friendly Date

by fattycatnip



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:09:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27401758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fattycatnip/pseuds/fattycatnip
Summary: A study session aka date between Yugi and Yami. General fluff, nothing serious happens.
Relationships: Mutou Yuugi/Yami Yuugi
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	A Friendly Date

After tying his boots, Yugi, took a look at himself in his mirror. Wearing a grey sleeveless hoodie, black jeans, and second hand Timberland boots he thrifted, he let out a deep sigh and hoped to make a good impression for his date.

His date being his best friend, Yami.

Let's get this straight: He didn't ask for a date. Yugi asked to study. There were no exams coming up, as Yami made note of right away. Fumbling for an explanation, Yugi mentioned that he wanted to keep up in classes as much as possible, and having a study buddy would help immensely. Jounouchi and Honda were clearly out of the question, and Anzu was studying abroad for her senior year.

"You're my only option." And Yami agreed. He gave a smile that flustered Yugi even now.

He noticed his face turning red again in the mirror. Yugi could no longer stand to look at his reflection, so he grabbed his laptop, calculator, and phone, stuffed them into his backpack, and took off.

It was a poor excuse for a date, he thought, and he pondered over their previous interaction as he walked down the street to their meeting place. It wasn't romantic or even cute, and he wondered why he didn't have the bravery to ask Yami out. Instead, they'd be stuck at a library talking about calculus and complaining about their online homework, which had the tendency to log students out just as they were finishing up a chapter.

The gang had not met since the school year began. Yami was a history major, and Yugi, Honda, and Jounouchi were still undecided. The one class they all agreed to take was calculus, but Yugi procrastinated and enrolled at a very late time slot that made his friends fear he'd one day be robbed when he left the campus at night.

This is better than nothing, Yugi reassured himself.

"Yugi!" Yami was there early as expected. He waved the boy over outside the library doors. His outfit was casual, a white pullover, bootcut jeans, and his usual, worn out, dirty sneakers. Yugi's face flushed again, embarrassed at how he overthought his own outfit this morning, yet in appreciation for how cool Yami always looked no matter what he wore.

"How are you? Doing alright?"

"Well, I'm struggling..." Yugi laughed.

"That bad?" Yami's face turned to an expression of worry. "I guess you really needed this study session."

"Ah..." He wanted to hit himself over such a lame greeting. "It's fine, but you're right. I do need this if I want to stay on top of class."

They entered the building. The library was small and had few people inside. The smell of old dusty books was immediately noticeable. It overwhelmed all patrons, yet it had a calming effect on those who chose to use its premises.

They looked for an empty table. They found one near the back of the library, isolated besides for the one man reading alone in the corner on a lounge chair. They sat and grabbed their supplies from their backpacks. As they set their belongings down, Yami whispered in embarrassment, "I forgot my calculator."

Yugi was stunned. The man he considered always composed and ready on any given day, forgot a calculator to a calculus study meeting!

"I have mine if you want to share, but it's a good thing laptops have calculators on them."

Yami crossed his arms, then slowly raised one hand to the back of his head.

"Don't tell me...?"

"Yep."

Yugi scratched his cheek in bewilderment. This wasn't a huge problem, since Yugi brought his own and they could share. Yami forgetting his laptop, however, which was necessary to access the textbook and homework, was extremely strange.

"At least you remembered your phone, right?"

Yami's face lit up as he dug into his pocket to pull it out. "I got that."

They began by opening their books and Yugi's laptop. The boy slid the laptop between them to share. Halfway through a chapter, he stretched his arms out and said, "This is harder than it looked in class."

Yami placed his right arm on the table and his chin on his hand, looking at Yugi in amusement. "It is, but all it takes is memorizing the steps."

"It's hard to remember them all," Yugi replied, frustrated, and laid the pencil that was in his hand down on the table.

Yami chuckled. "Yet it doesn't seem like you have a problem memorizing Duel Monster cards."

"That's different! Duel Monsters is a game. A game is easy to remember the rules of."

"If you think of this as a game," Yami picked up the pencil Yugi had dropped, and he examined the work on the paper in front of the boy, "Then the rules aren't that difficult to follow."

He circled a number and drew a line to the connecting equation. Yami had moved closer and was partly in Yugi's chair now, their arms touching, but neither noticed as he precisely explained the steps to solve the problem. Everything Yami said always made sense somehow. The arrows and lines he created on Yugi's notes made it look like it was a strategy guide for a board game rather than a piece of scrap paper for math problems.

"That's how we get to this solution. Do you understand it now, Yugi?"

They both looked up, and his eyes met with his best friend's. Yami's face was intense, not unlike how he looked when he played Duel Monsters; a fiery passion for the game, patience for everyone who dueled against him, and a determination to win no matter the odds. He was having fun navigating the rules for each problem, and he couldn't hold back his excitement to tell Yugi how he figured it all out. Yugi found it charming and admirable of him to take it so seriously.

"Yeah, it does!" Yugi smiled, and Yami grinned back.

They suddenly became aware of just how close together they sat. Yami turned away and coughed, muttering something about taking a sip of water, and left.

The rest of the day was unmemorable. They continued on with their homework, went through past chapters, and at half past eight, they decided it was time to go home.

Outside the library, they said their goodbyes. Yugi did not want the day to end, but he could not find a way to keep Yami for longer. Just as the boy turned to leave, Yami asked, "Do you want to visit the park?"

He turned around in bewilderment. "At this time?"

"Yeah."

"My grandpa might get worried."

"Text him. He'll be fine."

He would be fine, actually. It wasn't like he was waiting for Yugi to come home. In fact, grandpa was probably already in bed. Yugi meekly texted him a "Out tonight, will come home later" message, then walked with Yami to the park.

The park was, unsurprisingly, empty. The gang hadn't visited since they graduated high school. College kept them insanely busy. The park remained the same aside from the wear and tear expected with time. They sat on the swings, and the chains clinked and squeaked as the friends swayed back and forth on them.

"Do you remember when Jounouchi first asked us to teach him Duel Monsters?" Yami asked.

"Oh, yeah! Happened right there at those bars, didn't it?" Yugi pointed to the area where Jounouchi, with excitement in the blonde boy's eyes, requested to teach him the game. "I can't believe it was that long ago."

Yami chuckled. "It's nothing, considering my own age."

Yugi felt a chill run down his body. "Some day," his eyes began to water as he said, "You'll have to go back, won't you?"

Yami stood up from his swing, but Yugi raised his hand to stop him. "It's okay! I get it. You can't be here with me forever. I can take it."

Yami then knelt down in front of Yugi and took his small hands into his. " You're my best friend. You mean so much to me. But you're right, I do have to leave one day, and I'm going to miss you all. Especially you, Yugi."

Tears were already running down Yugi's cheeks, and his throat was too choked up for him to speak, so he gently nodded. He wiped his face with his arm. He only then noticed how cold it was and trembled uncontrollably.

"Here," the man took off his pullover and handed it to Yugi, "I can't believe you're wearing a sleeveless top at this time of year."

"It wasn't like this in the afternoon, "Yugi replied adamantly, but accepted the pullover and put it on. He felt Yami's warmth on his skin. His smell was strangely comforting and his small body no longer shook. However, underneath the pullover revealed that Yami as well wore a sleeveless tank, and he himself began to shake. Yugi laughed so loud that it echoed and the now sweater-less man turned red in embarrassment.

"Hey, Yami, stay at my house tonight. Gramps is probably in bed already, and we have food in the fridge. You're hungry, aren't you?"

Yami nodded, and they both hurried to the game shop. As they walked, Yami took Yugi's hand and said, "This is the only warmth I'm able to get."

Yugi laughed again, and they continued on to the shop, with their hands clasped tightly together that night.


End file.
